XXXTentacion was one of the fastest-rising stars in rap, and recently scored his first number one album in the US.

Fellow musicians including Kanye West, Diplo and J Cole paid tribute to the musician after his death. But others felt differently - criticising his violent past, including charges that he severely beat and abused his girlfriend.

"His favourite thing was to just backhand my mouth," she told the paper. "That always left welts inside my lips".

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The rapper's music largely dealt with depression and anxiety

After his death, Ayala took to Twitter to respond to apparent trolling by XXXTentacion's fans.

"Please stop tagging me in disrespectful threads and arguments," she wrote. "I honestly don't care for any of the hype. I lost someone close to me. Leave me alone."

She added: "I didn't lose my life. He did. It's permanent. I'm still here. Like, how do you think that makes me feel? Everyone expecting me to be relieved or happy?! No, I'm broken."

Thousands of pounds were subsequently donated to Ayala's fundraising page, which seeks to cover medical bills for repairing her optic nerve after what she described as "an aggressive hit" by the rapper.

Onfroy had consistently denied Ayala's allegations; and his lawyer called for the case to be dismissed following his death.

'Hercules'

The rapper, whose real name was Jahseh Onfroy, was shot multiple times on Monday after being approached by two armed suspects upon leaving Riva motorsports, an upmarket motorcycle dealership in Deerfield Beach, Florida.

The 20-year-old was pronounced dead a few hours later at the hospital. His lawyer says police believe the incident was a random robbery.

The suspects fled the scene in a matte black SUV. No arrests have been made.

Despite his history of violence, the star's great-grandmother recalled the Onfroy as an empathetic and generous young man.